UHeart Organizing: Speed Clean Your Car

Our automobiles can literally become our second home.  Driving to weekly sporting practices and events, long commutes to and from work, family road trips or just the fast pace lives that we all tend to lead which requires us to be in twelve places at once.  It is a good idea to keep them clean and tidy, but not always the first thing on our list of things to do each day, and the thought of cleaning out our cars may even be a bit daunting.  However, my gal pal Casey from Pretty Organized, is here today to share some super quick tips for keeping your car in tip-top shape.

Cleaning Shortcuts: How to Speed Clean Your Car in Five Minutes

I had a friend who needed a ride at the last minute, and my cluttered car needed a facelift -- fast!

Time-Saving Tools:

• Glass Cleaner {wipes, spray, water & a rag -- pick your poison!}
• Cleaning Wipes {I use wet wipes, but you can use special car cleaning wipes, too}
  
• Timer
• Trash Bag
• Lint Roller
• Duster {mine is from Flylady}

Speed Cleaning Play-by-Play:

I grabbed my timer {it keeps me moving quickly!} and got to work.

1 minute, 30 seconds: Throw away the trash & take the other junk into the house. Stuff that needs to stay in the car gets put in the trunk or in its respective cubby.

30 seconds: Dust the dash, vents, etc.

30 seconds: Wipe the inside of the windshield and front & passenger windows {bonus points if you get the back windows!}

30 seconds: Wipe out the cup holder & console

2 minutes: Use a lint roller to quickly get rid of the dog hair on the upholstery, then hit the floor to grab dirt, leaves, etc. on the carpet.

BOOM.  Car = not embarrassing.

If I had had more time, I could have used my dust buster, but the lint roller worked really well & was super fast. WIN!

Don't Think You Can Do It In Five Minutes?

Here are some quick tips for keepin' it clean on the go so that you'll never need more than a few minutes to tidy:

• Throw out trash & tidy up while you're getting gas.
• Whenever you leave the car, try to take whatever you brought in with you so that clutter doesn't pile up. 
• Keep that lint roller in the car for easy crumb clean-up {it's like having a little travel vacuum!}
  
• A small pack of wet wipes can handle everything from cleaning hands to wiping out cup holders, etc.
• I stash my duster & extra trash bags in the door pocket of my car, and I fold the bags like little paper footballs to save space. {Here's the tutorial from A Lil Bird Told Me.}

How do you keep your car neat & tidy?

"My name is Casey, and I live in a sweet, tiny little house in Delaware with my hubby & our two adorable rescue dogs. As a longtime fan of Jen's phenomenal organizing skills, I am absolutely THRILLED to be a contributor for IHeart Organizing!  

 

I used to be a total mess, but after I let go of the idea of “perfect,” I found freedom. I stopped trying to fit the mold & learned how to make organization work with my natural habits, and I have become obsessed with creative organizing solutions ever since! When I'm not drooling over the latest amazing project features over here, you can find me happily tinkering away on my own blog, Pretty Organized, where I share my addiction to aesthetics, small space storage ideas, DIY projects, and all things aqua!"